Former Grand Slam Champion Wonders How Carlos Alcaraz Will Handle His Career Without Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

Because Carlos Alcaraz has split with Juan Carlos Ferrero, a big question mark hangs over his career. Who would have thought that the 22-year-old, after his career’s most successful season, would end a seven-year-long partnership with Ferrero in the off-season?

Alcaraz, without any shadow of a doubt, will be questioned during tournament after tournament regarding his split with the 2003 French Open champion. Ferrero revealed in an interview that he disagreed with certain aspects of the new contract, resulting in the end of the long collaboration.

But Alcaraz’s arch-rival Jannik Sinner‘s coaching situation is stable, as had Darren Cahill departed from his team, it would have already dominated the global headlines. Mark Woodforde, a 12-time doubles Grand Slam champion and the ambassador for the ongoing Hong Kong Open, told Tennis365 that even he is waiting to see how Alcaraz performs this year without the guidance of Ferrero.

There is an asterisk against the name of Carlos Alcaraz right now. All eyes are going to be on him once he gets to Australia to see how he navigates the landscape without Ferrero alongside him. Nothing has changed with Sinner. The coaching situation is still very solid, and to return as a two-time defending champion, it looks good for him heading into 2026. With Alcaraz, we just have to wait and see how he handles it.

Alcaraz doesn’t have a decent record at the Australian Open by his own standards, as it’s one of the very few tournaments where he has never made the semifinals. Twice he suffered defeats in the quarterfinals: against Alexander Zverev in 2024 and versus Novak Djokovic last year, with both defeats coming in four sets.

Winning the Melbourne Major will make Alcaraz the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam. He will surpass Rafael Nadal, who achieved this feat at the age of 24.

But Sinner will be arriving in Melbourne to bid for his third consecutive title, and the win will make him only the second man in the Open Era to do so after Djokovic. He defeated Daniil Medvedev and Zverev in the previous two finals.

Mark Woodforde calls Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz the saviors of men’s tennis

As Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic started to reach the twilight of their respective careers, uncertainty loomed over men’s tennis, with many predicting that the Big 3’s departure would make the ATP tour more open. After Djokovic’s historic 24th Grand Slam triumph at the 2023 US Open, the tennis world started to enjoy the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, both of whom wrapped up the last eight Grand Slam finals in their favor.

During the aforementioned interview with Tennis365, Mark Woodforde called the World No.1 and the World No.2 the saviors of men’s tennis.

We were spoiled by the success of those three, Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer, for a long time. There were legitimate questions for the men’s tour to ask about what it’s going to be like when they stop. We are two-thirds into that now, as Djokovic is still out there playing, but to have Alcaraz and Sinner jump in so quickly has been a huge savior for men’s tennis.

Djokovic, the last member of the Big 3, clinched just two ATP 250 titles last year, also reaching all four Grand Slam semifinals. Sinner and Alcaraz were the reasons why the Serb failed to make the finals of three Majors. At the Australian Open last year, an injury forced him to give the walkover to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. In 2024, the four-time Grand Slam champion knocked him out in the last four.

Also read: Nick Kyrgios Makes Huge ‘Money’ Confession About the Rest of his Career

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